Le Direct: Live Streaming Video and TV Coverage

June 11 update: A work in progress for Critérium du Dauphiné 2010 live and delayed coverage. Most live feeds will be country restricted, but unrestricted links will appear in bold. Check back at race time for more links. Feel free to send in additional sources for live video, tv coverage or text updates/tickers as they become known. — Steve

British Eurosport. Weekday stages live on Eurosport2 at 13:00 GMT/15:00 CET (90 min); rebroadcast at 18:45 GMT (45 min). French Eurosport is live at 18:00 CEST (60 min). Weekday stages will start at 13:00 GMT on British Eurosport.

Race Previews

June 5 update: The Critérium du Dauphiné is an excellent stage race even if some of the competitors are in training mode for the upcoming Tour de France.

This is the first year that ASO will run "The Dauphine" after adding it to its growing stable of races. I assume you know they also run the best one week race in cycling, Paris-Nice, and the Super Bowl of cycling, the Tour de France. Previously, Critérium du Dauphiné was a relatively low key race put on by the regional newspaper, Le Dauphiné Libéré who weren't interested or didn't have the resources to properly market this fine event. Based in the old Dauphine region in southeastern France, most people now refer to this area as the French Alps, but it encompasses a wider area. To kick-off ASO's ownership, the Dauphine will feature Alpe d'Huez for the first time while the popular start/finish host, Grenoble, is back for a 45th time.

This race caters to the climbers that are also good against the clock. In others words, it would seem like a good preview for the upcoming Tour de France nicely compressed into one week... more stuff (mountains & tts) and less fluff (flats).

Tour de France GC contenders don't like to peak for this event, but in the past, Lance Armstrong and Miguel Indurain each won this race twice en route to winning the Tour de France. Alberto Contador, Dennis Menchov and Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez are the big names to watch this year. Alberto Contador placed third last year without breaking much of a sweat before going onto winning the Tour de France in July. We'll also get a look at Jurgen van den Broeck in the leadership role for OmegaPharma - Lotto, previously Cadel Evan's domain. The most intense competition comes from riders looking to make their team's Tour de France selection. In this boat, we have riders like, Garmin's Tom Danielson, RadioShack's Chris Horner and Janez Brajkovic and HTC-Columbia's Kanstantsin Siutsou and Tejay van Garderen. Check out the official rosters for the rest of the contenders and links below for full race previews. — Steve.New organisers, same challenging Dauphiné;
Contador heavy favourite for victory — cyclingnewsVideo Preview (02:47 english) — versusTour prep, not Dauphine win, is crucial: Contador — afpBackseat DS: Dauphine-Libere Top 10 teams/riders — bicycling

Team rosters now posted

Stage details now posted

May 30 update: Stage profiles, maps and timetables are now posted for the 2010 Dauphiné Libéré. See the race summary table (right). Much more to come including team rosters, interactive maps and live coverage details.